ASSOCIATED STUDENTS UCLA



ASSOCIATED STUDENTS UCLA

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Regular Meeting

Friday, September 30, 2005

12:00 p.m.

Kerckhoff Staterooms

PRESENT: Matt Bukirin, Allison Carter (Recording Secretary), Gustavo DeHaro, Andy Green, Werner Hirsch, Melanie Ho, Craig Kaplan, Dorothy Kim, Dave Lowenstein, Robert Naples, Hoi Ning Ngai, Natalie Nguyen, Richard Orgell, Tina Park, and Bob Williams.

LATE: Charles Harless.

ABSENT: None.

GUESTS: Cindy Bolton (ASUCLA Food Service Associate Director), Rich Delia (ASUCLA Chief Financial Officer), Jared Fox (GSA President), Cindy Holmes (ASUCLA Trademarks and Licensing Director), Marsha Inouye (ASUCLA Marketing Senior Designer), Derek Lipkin (Daily Bruin Reporter), Jerry Mann (ASUCLA Student Union Director), Kristina Miller (ASUCLA Visual Identity Manager), Janina Montero (Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs ), Lisa Perez (ASUCLA Marketing Director), John Sandbrook (Special Assistant Executive Dean UCLA College), and Joe Vardner (USAC Facilities Commissioner).

CALL TO ORDER

Ms. Park called the meeting to order at 12:02 p.m.

ADOPTION OF CONSENT CALENDAR & ORDERS OF THE DAY

Ms. Park asked if there were any changes to the agenda, commented that there was a request for a Public Comment section to be added to the agenda, and requested that the item be added before the Board enters into Executive Session. Ms. Kim moved, seconded by Mr. Green, that the Associated Students UCLA Board of Directors accept the amended Orders of the Day. Ms. Park called for consent. There being no objections, the agenda was approved by unanimous consent.

MINUTES

Ms. Ngai made a motion, seconded by Ms. Nguyen, that the Associated Students UCLA Board of Directors approve the Minutes of the August 26, 2005 Regular Meeting with the following amendments:

• On page 3, sixth paragraph, fourth sentence, remove the apostrophe from the word holiday’s.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Mr. Williams offered the Executive Director’s Report to the Board.

Information Items:

A. Financial / Operational

Financial Overview – August financial results were very positive. The Association’s net loss was less than planned by $59,000. Some of this positive variance is due to timing of expenses that will show up in later months.

The Store did not make their aggressive budget, especially in the Computer Store, but Mr. Williams felt that those numbers would increase in September. Apparel was ahead of plan, Textbooks was off to a slow start, and LuValle continues to have excellent results. The margin percentages in the store were good due to lower Computer Store sales.

Food Service results were over budget in sales due in part to operational changes where some areas were budgeted to be open, such as the Jamba Juice lounge, and other areas were supposed to be closed, such as Tropix.

Student Union had a positive month due to timing issues and extra events they had not budgeted for.

A & SS had a positive month as well.

September results in the Store appear to be strong with BearWear and the Computer Store areas doing very well. However, Food Service sales are lagging since the Jamba Juice lounge is not open. Additionally, Catering did not have a strong month, but is hopeful that their numbers will increase in the next few months.

Mr. Williams then reviewed some issues that he wanted the Board to be aware of, which include the continuing trends in the Textbook area where plans are being developed for the future. Another issue is the operating format within the Food Division regarding budgeting. It is easy to budget when there are no changes occurring, but this year was a difficult year to forecast with the many operational unit adjustments in Food Service. The last issue involves utility costs. In addition to a very aggressive budget for utilities, increases in natural gas and gasoline prices will likely impact the Association significantly in both utility and product costs.

B. Marketing / Products / Programs

Welcome Week – Mr. Williams stated the Welcome Week events were coming to an end. ASUCLA worked along with USA by supplying funding for their event and with GSA on a very successful orientation. At the GSA Orientation an informational piece about ASUCLA, which included a letter from Mr. Fox and coupons to the Store and coffee locations, was distributed. Stickers were also placed on the box lunches which were provided by ASUCLA, and Mr. Fox specifically mentioned ASUCLA in his speech. A Computer Store flyer that was targeted to graduate students along with a campus map with coupons attached was also distributed. Ms. Ngai mentioned that she received comments from new graduate members that they wished they would have known about the deals at the Computer Store before they had purchased their computers before school began. ASUCLA also worked with USA on their events by helping out with the marketing of their open house and the self-guided tour that was created. Mr. Williams thanked additional ASUCLA Managers for working these events, and Ms. Wood and Mr. Fox for including ASUCLA in their events.

After Hours Sale– Mr. Williams reported that the After Hours Sale was very successful with sales reaching $10,000-$12,000 above last year’s sales. It is a great event where the Store tries to bring residence hall students down to their area to experience the Store as well as participate in a casino night.

Distinctively UCLA – Mr. Williams stated that the Distinctively UCLA campaign has been completed and will be distributed with the holiday catalog the first week in November. The purpose of this marketing piece was to separately highlight higher end products.

Web Marketing – Mr. Williams stated that web marketing is a major goal for the year and his managers are looking at ways to refine the process that already exists while making it more efficient and user friendly. Mr. Williams then introduced Ms. Perez and Ms. Inouye to show the Board what new features have been added to the ASUCLA website. Ms. Inouye showed the Board that a page has been added to the website which displays all of the information regarding the Welcome Week activities. They have also redesigned the UCLA Store website to include more information including in-store specials. Ms. Perez added that ASUCLA’s Welcome Week information was on the Alumni and UCLA websites.

Trademarks and Licensing Style Guide – Mr. Williams explained that the Trademarks and Licensing Style Guide has been completed, and he introduced Ms. Holmes and Ms. Miller from that department to review the Style Guide with the Board. Ms. Holmes explained that this is a key initiative for their department which gives more detailed information to their customers, both on-campus and off-campus, about what is appropriate and what is not. Ms. Miller added that they are currently addressing the campus by updating their website to include links about “Why have licensed products,” “How to get a product licensed,” and “How to get royalty exemption.” For the licensees, they wanted to keep a fresh and consistent guide that showed more pictures and was less wordy. To receive input about the Style Guide, a focus group was created and a survey was completed by online BearWear customers to learn how people view UCLA. A CD with photos from the campus is included in the Style Guide which the licensees will be able to use in their own marketing. The Style Guides were mailed out to the International Licensees on Thursday, while the Domestic Licensees will be mailed out theirs next week.

C. Facilities / Capital / Construction

Cooperage – Phase two of the Cooperage project has begun, and meetings have been taking place with the Facilities Department to discuss plans for this area. Taco Bell has opened in the Cooperage

and sales were 39% higher yesterday than sales last year on the same day at Campus Corner. Mr. Williams stated his concern for the Taco Bell temporary location because he feels that location will not be able to meet the customer demand. The platform will be pulled back 6-8 feet to make more room for customers to stand in line. Mr. Williams thanked Ms. Bolton, Ms. Donato Embuido, Ms. Noh, and the Maintenance staff for putting Taco Bell together so quickly.

Campus Corner – Campus Corner has been removed and the fences have been pushed back so now the benches can be utilized.

Jamba Juice Lounge – With no update on the Jamba Juice lounge, Mr. Williams stated that they are still waiting for communication to occur after their October 6 meeting.

Healthy Foods Bar – The initial estimates came in too high for this project and Mr. Williams has asked that they be revised to make the amounts closer to the original budget.

South Campus Student Center – The first meeting was held today for the South Campus Student Center with Board members included. Ms. Nguyen commented that she feels this project will be wonderful for the South Campus community but she feels it may be a complicated one to try and incorporate everyone’s ideas. However, overall she feels it will be a great investment. Mr. DeHaro added that the architectural design is innovative in terms of where light will be let in throughout the building. He also said the group’s priority is students and their interaction. The next phase will include food service ideas, the design of the space, and discussion of space allotment. By the end of December the goal is to have a firm plan to use for marketing so as to find additional funding.

Broad Arts – Initial plans have been created and a meeting is scheduled for next week.

Kauffman – Mr. Champawat researched placing a coffee cart at the Kauffman location, and there is a cart available in a few days, but the Kauffman people want to be more involved with that decision making process, so this project is going to move more slowly.

D. Campus Partnerships & Integration

Space – ASUCLA offices have been vacated and allocated to GSA, which was a commitment of the SAFE Referendum. Without the SAFE Referendum passing, those offices may have had to be rented out.

Hurricane Katrina – ASUCLA has been involved with the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts by collecting cash donations at the Store and Restaurant registers. Direct support from ASUCLA includes Store gift certificates to the displaced college students from Louisiana to help them purchase school supplies.

Thursday’s at Noon – The Thursday at Noon program will begin soon and Mr. Williams highlighted some of the upcoming topics which include “How to Create Your Dream Career” and “Stress Management and Midterms.”

Ms. Park asked if there were any further questions for Mr. Williams. There were none.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT

Ms. Ngai offered the Executive Committee Report, indicating that the Committee met on September 21, heard the Executive Director’s report, postponed the discussion on the retreat evaluation until the October meeting, discussed the space allocation agenda item, created the meetings schedule for Fall Quarter which include meetings on October 18 and November 22 (with the December meeting yet to be scheduled), and created the agenda for the September Board meeting.

ENTITIES COMMITTEE REPORT

Ms. Park offered the Entities Committee Report, indicating that the Committee met on September 6, saw the mock-up of the Entities board (which will be posted on either A-level of Ackerman or on the second floor near Ackerman 2408), heard a presentation on the Healthy Foods Bar space, deferred space issues to the Space Committee, discussed future planning for the Kerckhoff 75th Anniversary taking place in January, and heard each entity’s plans for the upcoming year.

FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT

Ms. Nguyen offered the Finance Committee Report, indicating that the Committee met on September 23. PricewaterhouseCoopers came to the meeting to discuss the audit report for the year, the internal audit report of the cash manager’s office was presented, and Mr. Ward from the Communications Board came to present his July Financial statements as requested at previous meetings. Mr. Ward’s statements show for the fiscal year a net loss of more that $246,000. The Finance Committee expressed concern over this net loss and has requested that he report to the November Finance Committee meeting with a contingency plan, along with a long term plan for the future.

SERVICES COMMITTEE REPORT

Mr. DeHaro offered the Services Committee Report, indicating that the Committee met on September 9, heard the Executive Director’s Report, discussed the Healthy Foods Bar (specifically the logo, which has been narrowed down but will not be decided on until the eatery design is created), discussed the South Campus Student Center meeting, approved the Allocation of Library Space to USA and GSA motion (which will be voted on by the Board at the end of the meeting), and discussed Hurricane Katrina relief efforts (with student direction on which charities they would like to donate funds to).

PERSONNEL COMMITTEE REPORT

Mr. Harless offered the Personnel Committee Report, indicating that the Committee met on September 16, discussed an Executive Session item, and scheduled their meetings for the rest of the school year (which will be held on the same day as the Services Committee).

MANAGEMENT REPORTS

Mr. Delia offered the financial reports to the Board.

August Financial Statement

August financials were strong, the Association was ahead in terms of net income by $59,000. Mr. Delia believes that half of this net income is due to timing of expenses that will occur later in the year thus reversing some of this positive variance.

The Store was off its contribution by $9,000 but BearWear was above its gross income plan by $17,000. Graduation Etc. was also $13,000 above plan due to carryover from Commencement. The Computer Store was below plan by $141,000 which is lower than past months, however, Mr. Delia mentioned that their numbers are higher in the month of September. The LuValle bookstore is doing well and has done a tremendous job establishing a good rapport with the Law School and UCLA Extension.

The Food Division was off by $5,000 in contribution, mostly due to higher student wages. Tropix was budgeted to be closed so it showed a positive variance of $17,000 above plan in gross income. Mr. Delia added that the Food Service year will be difficult because of the timing issues of the capital projects.

Services contribution was better than plan by $7,000; the Student Union was above plan by $35,000 due to timing issues as well as serving events that were not budgeted for.

Domestic Licensing had a good month due to BearWear and the International Licensee in Korea appears to be over the minimum guarantee and will be paying additional royalties in the next few months.

Administration and Support Services was better than plan by $14,000 and Utilities was close to plan, but Mr. Delia reiterated that natural gas prices have doubled in the past year so that is a concern.

Depreciation is lower than plan due to timing issues of projects not taking place that had been planned for.

Cash is around $11.5 million, however, $9 million of that has already been committed to the Bombshelter, the Cooperage first phase, the Healthy Foods Bar, and the Store and Food POS systems replacements. Capital Expenditures were budgeted to be $2.5 million for the year, but the Association has spent very little of that in August. Mr. Delia explained that since the Association is financially strong it is able to invest back into the facilities for such things as upgrading the meeting rooms and providing new furniture.

Past due receivables were high for August but will come down in September to more normal levels. Inventory was high but that was expected as we stocked up on more computers and we took early deliveries in Textbooks. Inventory turns continued to be at about 5, which is very positive.

Mr. Delia reminded the Board that the projected net loss for the year is $371,000, primarily due to the Association agreeing to pay higher student wages, increase programming (interaction fund and waiver pool), and increase space allocation to the student governments starting this year, even though the SAFE Fee does not start until next fiscal year.

September Month to Date Preliminary Sales

Month to date in September, sales in the Store were above plan by $370,759. Sales in the Apparel department account for half of these sales, $163,163, which includes the sales from football games, Back to the Beach, and the After Hours Sale. The Computer Store has a positive variance of $218,867, which puts them 15% over plan. Used Text is up $64,186, while New Text was down for the month. LuValle is up $19,786, which is mostly due to textbook sales. Health Science Store was up $26,025, mostly due to the Dental Kits, which were up $40,967, a carry over from last month when their sales were down. Mr. Adams, the manager at Health Science Store feels the kits will be back on plan by January. Hill Top Shop was above plan by $3,380. They recently sent out promotional materials and moved items around in their store to highlight some of the products more than others. Mail, Telephone, Web (MTW) was up $39,982 which is up 50.1% from plan. The estimated gross margin for the month is expected to be $117,000 over plan.

Sales to date in the Restaurants Division were $50,593 below plan. Most of this variance was caused by the Jamba Juice lounge, which was budgeted to be open, but has not and won’t be probably until spring of next year. Catering also had a negative variance of $21,296.

APPROVAL OF SPACE ALLOCATION FOR USA AND GSA

Mr. DeHaro stated the Services Committee is bringing a motion to the Board to transfer the available space of the Kerckhoff Library to Undergraduate and Graduate Student Associations, where the percentage share of the occupancy and the eventual use of the space will be determined by the governments. The governments will then report back to the Board with their final resolution by an agreed upon deadline. Mr. DeHaro mentioned that this movement was spearheaded by USA to work with GSA and to acquire more marketing work space as well as a communal space. Ms. Ho suggested that a new motion be created where GSA is removed from the allotment of space. Mr. Harless suggested leaving the motion as is, and if the governments are at an impasse, letting them make a decision on their own and setting a deadline for when their agreement needs to be reached and reported to the Board. Mr. Lowenstein mentioned that the Board should see something in writing stating the entities’ final decision. Ms. Ho moved to amend the motion to strike the words an agreed upon deadline and replace it with October 13, 2005 to the Services Committee. Mr. Lowenstein called consent, and the amended motion passed.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Ms. Park asked if there was anyone in the room who would like to make a public comment. Mr. Vardner stated that the public comment section was no longer needed.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Ms. Ngai made a motion, seconded by Ms. Kim, that the Associated Students UCLA Board of Directors move into Executive Session. Mr. Williams requested that Mr. Delia be invited to stay for Executive Session.

The Board entered into Executive Session at 1:25 p.m.

Ms. Kim made a motion, seconded by Mr. DeHaro, to exit Executive Session at 1:50 p.m.

Ms. Kim made a motion, seconded by Ms. Ngai, that the Associated Students UCLA Board of Directors approve all actions taken in Executive Session. Ms. Park called for consent. There being no objections, all actions were approved by unanimous consent.

ADJOURNMENT

Ms. Kim moved, seconded by Ms. Nguyen that the Associated Students UCLA Board of Directors adjourn the September 30, 2005, Regular Meeting. Ms. Park called for consent. There being no objections, the meeting was adjourned at 1:52 p.m.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Pursuant to Bylaw 3, section 3.6(d) of the ASUCLA Board of Directors Bylaws, I have reviewed these Minutes and hereby attest to their accuracy.

David Lowenstein

Board Secretary and Administrative Representative

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